How To Use WorldRemit To Receive Money In South Africa
Your guide on how to receive money from WorldRemit in South Africa, including collecting money as a cash pick up and documents you need to make an account.
Receiving Money From Paypal in South Africa
Known for being a major player in international transfers, PayPal is one of the leading payment solutions worldwide – including for those in South Africa looking for an easy way to receive money from abroad.
If you’re new to PayPal, you’re in the right place! This guide explains how to receive money from PayPal in South Africa, including international fees, setting up a PayPal account, and linking your South African bank account for withdrawals.
Also learn about Wise – that will show you how to make money transfers to South Africa at the mid-market exchange rate!
Documents needed to set up a PayPal account
Not only is it free to set up a PayPal account in South Africa,⁵ but it’s also easy to do so. Here’s how to open a PayPal account in the country, including how to verify your identity as a new account holder:⁶
- Go to www.paypal.com/za and click ‘Sign Up’
- Choose between an individual or business account, depending on how you want to use PayPal.
- Enter your details and create your account.
- Confirm your email address.
- Verify your account by linking a debit or credit card to your PayPal account.
When verifying your identity, PayPal will charge a nominal fee to your card. Don’t worry, this will be refunded later.⁷ You will find a four-digit code embedded in the transaction reference on your bank statement. Once you enter this four-digit code on the PayPal website, your account can be verified. Simple!
Acceptable forms of ID in South Africa
PayPal may also ask you to verify your identity by providing a government-issued ID. This could be your South African ID or a valid passport. You might also need to provide proof of address issued within the past 12 months, for example, a recent utility bill or bank statement.⁸
Steps to withdraw your PayPal transfer
Understanding how to receive money from PayPal in South Africa will make the withdrawal process quick and easy. With PayPal, you receive money when someone pays to your mobile number or email address associated with your account.⁹ You will get a notification when you have money available.
Once you have money in your PayPal account, you can either:
- Keep it in your PayPal balance and send it to friends and family
- Transfer it to your South African bank account
How to link your bank account and PayPal account
You can withdraw funds from your PayPal account into any FNB and non-FNB bank account in South Africa,¹⁰ including Capitec, Standard Bank, ABSA and Nedbank. To link your bank account with your PayPal account, follow the steps below:¹¹
- Register for a free FNB online banking profile by clicking ‘Register’ at https://www.fnb.co.za/. If you don’t have an FNB bank account, choose ‘Register for PayPal for non-FNB customers’
- Log into your FNB online banking and link your verified PayPal account by clicking ‘Forex’ and then ‘PayPal services.’ Select the menu option on the left, then ‘Link PayPal Profile.’ This will give you access to the FNB PayPal Service.
- Alternatively, use the FNB app to link your PayPal account by selecting ‘Forex,’ then ‘PayPal, then ‘Link Now.’ You can add a non-FNB bank account for withdrawal during this linking process.
Withdrawing money from PayPal
Once your PayPal account has been linked with your South African bank account, you can start withdrawing money. To withdraw money from PayPal, follow these steps: ¹²
- Log into your FNB online banking profile.
- Click ‘Forex,’ then ‘PayPal Services’ and select the menu option on the left.
- Click ‘Withdraw from PayPal.’
- Enter the withdrawal amount in US Dollars.
- Confirm the USD/ZAR exchange rate, transaction fees (more on this later) and relevant terms and conditions.
- Log into your PayPal account again to review your withdrawal.
Tracking your incoming transfer
You can easily check the status of a payment on the PayPal site and mobile app by going to your PayPal ‘activity’ and selecting a specific payment.¹³
Knowing how many days it takes to receive money from PayPal can also help you track its progress. Payments into a PayPal account are immediate, with funds usually appearing in your account within minutes. However, it can take three to five business days for a withdrawal from your PayPal account to show up in your linked South African bank account.¹⁴
Wise for International Transfers to South Africa at the mid-market exchange rate
If you’re a South African expat living abroad or someone wanting to send money to South Africa, Wise can help you save money¹ when making international money transfers back to South Africa.
Some banks and money transfer services use the mid-market rate when they trade between themselves, but they rarely pass it on to you. Instead, they often mark up the rate to make extra money.¹³
It is recommended to check the exchange rate offered by your bank against the mid-market rate, which is similar to the exchange rate shown on Google. Say no to hidden fees!
The mid-market exchange rate is the rate that banks use to transfer money between them and is considered the ‘fair rate’ in the market. Find out what you would pay for an international money transfer with Wise:
Wise customers don’t have to pay an additional markup fee but only a small transparent fee to make an international transaction¹. That’s because Wise uses the mid-market rate for overseas payments!
With Wise, South African expats can save money¹ on an international money transfer by providing low fees and also do away with the markup on the mid-market exchange rate when making international payments to South Africa.
PayPal fees to receive money in South Africa
While there are no setup or monthly fees for having a PayPal account in South Africa, there are several PayPal fees for receiving money internationally to be aware of. These include:
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Fixed PayPal fee | Between 3.4% and 4.4% + $0.30 per transaction¹⁹ |
| PayPal currency conversion fee | 2.5%²⁰ |
| Exchange rate | Fixed by FNB |
| FNB withdrawal fee | Between 0.81% and 1.51%, depending on the transaction amount and your previous month's transactional value.²¹ |
Current exchange rates
When you receive money from PayPal in ZA, FNB will quote a ZAR/USD exchange rate for your transaction.²² You will be able to see this exchange rate before choosing to withdraw your money. PayPay then charges an additional 2.5% currency conversion fee above this exchange rate.²⁰
Payment methods available
An international payment via PayPal is first deposited into your PayPal account. You can then withdraw the money directly to a linked South African bank account – making sure to withdraw within 30 days.¹⁷ Once the money is in your account, you can do whatever you choose, whether that’s make a payment or withdraw the money as cash.
Collection limits and restrictions
If your PayPal account isn’t verified, there are limits on the total amount of money someone can send you.¹⁵ With a verified PayPal account, there are no restrictions on the total amount of money you can send. Note that PayPal can apply its own limits to single transactions, depending on your currency.¹⁶
There are a few other restrictions with using PayPal in South Africa. For example, you must withdraw your PayPal balance within 30 days of receipt of funds.¹⁷
You also can’t receive payments in ZAR – instead, you can only receive money in one of the PayPal supported currencies, including USD and Euros.¹⁸ When withdrawing transfers to your bank account, PayPal will convert your currency and apply a currency conversion fee. There’s more information on this shortly!
Wise as an alternative for receiving money in South Africa
With transparent fees and no margin on the exchange rate¹, Wise is a great alternative for receiving international transfers in South Africa. Wise always uses the mid-market exchange rate (similar to the rate you see on Google) for international payments, and also provides the total cost before you make the transfer so you know exactly how much you’re paying!
Sources
- Please seeTerms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.
- Transaction speed claimed depends on funds availability, approval by Wise’s proprietary verification system and systems availability of our partners’ banking system, and may not be available for all transactions.
- Eligibility is subject to verification of customers identity. Wise may request additional documents to verify a customer's identity.
- Please note that certain products or features may not be available in all regions. Please visit www.wise.com to check for availability and learn more about our offerings.
- Free to create account
- Set up a PayPal account
- Refund nominal fee
- Verifying with ID
- Receiving money with PayPal
- Withdrawing funds into your bank account
- Link PayPal and FNB
- Withdraw money
- Check status
- Speed of payments
- Verification limits
- Limits on single transactions
- Withdraw within 30 days
- PayPal supported currencies
- Fixed PayPal fee
- Currency conversion fee
- FNB withdrawal fee
- FNB exchange rate
- Number of customers that use PayPal
*Please see terms of use and product availability for your region or visit Wise fees and pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.
This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from Wise Payments Limited or its subsidiaries and its affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining advice from a financial advisor or any other professional.
We make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether expressed or implied, that the content in the publication is accurate, complete or up to date.
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